Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $12.07 Million Position in Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vaxcyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCVX - Free Report) by 128.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,436 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 82,940 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Vaxcyte worth $12,069,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vaxcyte by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,961,687 shares of the company's stock valued at $979,184,000 after buying an additional 521,204 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,210,523 shares of the company's stock worth $508,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312,302 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,869,332 shares of the company's stock worth $234,884,000 after purchasing an additional 82,997 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,802,888 shares of the company's stock worth $229,495,000 after purchasing an additional 102,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Vaxcyte by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,779,362 shares of the company's stock worth $145,659,000 after purchasing an additional 133,448 shares during the last quarter. 96.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Vaxcyte news, COO Jim Wassil sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.27, for a total value of $586,160.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 154,931 shares in the company, valued at $11,351,794.37. This represents a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCVX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Vaxcyte in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded Vaxcyte to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Vaxcyte in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Vaxcyte from $138.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $136.50.

Vaxcyte Price Performance

Shares of PCVX traded up $4.54 on Tuesday, reaching $36.57. 4,372,071 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,353,918. The firm has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.95 and a beta of 1.27. Vaxcyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.66 and a 12 month high of $121.06. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $41.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.94.

Vaxcyte (NASDAQ:PCVX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 14th. The company reported ($1.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.02) by ($0.02). During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.85) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vaxcyte, Inc. will post -4.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vaxcyte Profile

Vaxcyte, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology vaccine company, develops novel protein vaccines to prevent or treat bacterial infectious diseases. Its lead vaccine candidate is VAX-24, a 24-valent investigational pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease. The company also develops VAX-31 to protect against emerging strains and to help address antibiotic resistance; VAX-A1, a novel conjugate vaccine candidate to prevent disease caused by Group A Streptococcus; VAX-PG, a novel protein vaccine candidate targeting keystone pathogen responsible for periodontitis; and VAX-GI to prevent Shigella, a bacterial illness.